In partnership with
CYBER SYRUP
Delivering the sweetest insights on cybersecurity.
Pelosi Made 178% While Your 401(k) Crashed
Nancy Pelosi: Up 178% on TEM options
Marjorie Taylor Greene: Up 134% on PLTR
Cleo Fields: Up 138% on IREN
Meanwhile, retail investors got crushed on CNBC's "expert" picks.
The uncomfortable truth: Politicians don't just make laws. They make fortunes.
AltIndex reports every single Congress filing without fail and updates their data constantly.
Then their AI factors those Congress trades into the AI stock ratings on the AltIndex app.
We’ve partnered with AltIndex to get our readers free access to their app for a limited time.
Congress filed 7,810 new stock buys this year as of July.
Don’t miss out on direct access to their playbooks!
Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing involves risk including possible loss of principal.
Microsoft Patches 61 Vulnerabilities
A critical vulnerability in React, tracked as CVE-2025-55182 and widely referred to as React2Shell, is now being actively exploited in the wild. The flaw enables unauthenticated remote code execution (RCE) via specially crafted HTTP requests on affected React 19 server instances. Although patched on December 3, exploitation attempts began within hours of public disclosure, with cloud threat intelligence teams observing activity linked to known China-based threat groups. Widespread adoption of React means the blast radius for unpatched systems is significant, accelerating scanning, reverse engineering, and proof-of-concept (PoC) weaponization across the ecosystem.
Context
React is one of the world’s most widely used JavaScript frameworks, powering millions of websites and applications. Version 19 introduced new server features that, while not universally deployed, are common enough across cloud environments to draw immediate attention from adversaries.
Because React is deeply integrated into CI/CD pipelines, serverless platforms, microservices, and full-stack application frameworks, server-side vulnerabilities can quickly propagate across large digital footprints. According to Wiz, 39% of cloud environments contain a vulnerable React instance, underscoring the urgency of rapid patching.
What Happened
Security researcher Lachlan Davidson reported the flaw to Meta on November 29. A patch shipped on December 3, but by then security researchers, automated scanners, and threat actors had already begun analyzing the changes.
Within hours:
AWS threat intelligence identified active exploitation attempts from infrastructure attributed to Earth Lamia and Jackpot Panda, both long-running China-linked threat groups.
Multiple public PoCs appeared—some real, many fake—while adversaries iterated and debugged against live targets.
Automated scanning surged as security tools, offensive frameworks, and botnets added the new CVE.
The vulnerability enables attackers to send crafted HTTP requests that trigger code execution on unpatched servers, giving them a direct path to compromise.
Technical Breakdown
While Meta has not released detailed exploitation mechanics, reverse engineering of the patch reveals:
The flaw impacts React 19 server environments using a newer server feature.
Vulnerable deployments accept user-controlled input that can influence server-side rendering pathways.
Crafted requests can manipulate these pathways to achieve remote code execution.
Other key technical observations:
Numerous fake PoCs are circulating, confusing researchers and opportunistic attackers.
Real exploitation attempts demonstrate iterative debugging, not simple spray-and-pray scanning.
Exploitation does not apply to older React versions or React apps lacking the server feature.
Impact Analysis
Unpatched environments face the risk of:
server takeover
unauthorized persistence
lateral movement within cloud environments
data exfiltration
supply-chain contamination if CI agents run impacted builds
Because React2Shell operates at the server layer, downstream impacts can extend far beyond UI components.
Why It Matters
React is foundational infrastructure, not just a UI library. Millions of cloud workloads rely on it, and widespread adoption means that vulnerabilities at this layer create ecosystem-level risk.
The combination of:
high deployment volume,
low patch latency across distributed systems, and
active exploitation by motivated APT actors
elevates React2Shell to one of the most urgent web vulnerabilities of the year.
Expert Commentary
AWS: Threat actors are “actively debugging and refining exploitation techniques against live targets,” indicating a high-effort, high-value campaign.
Kevin Beaumont: Only React 19 with specific server features is exploitable, but attackers are still aggressively firing fake PoCs.
Searchlight Cyber: Released a high-fidelity detection method to help organizations differentiate noise from real exploitation.
Key Takeaways
React2Shell is a critical, actively exploited RCE vulnerability.
Patch immediately to React 19.0.1 or later.
Many public PoCs are fake—use vetted sources only.
Cloud environments are disproportionately affected.
Attackers linked to Earth Lamia and Jackpot Panda began exploitation within hours.
Organizations must review logs for IoCs and strengthen monitoring around server-side React use.